New way to control Pellet Hop gunk!

dogbar said:

So maybe size really does matter. I have the 6x14 and am not having the same issues you are.



I mean, I'd say the same thing. Except I'd mean that in a good way. It doesn't seem like performance on any one person's system can definitively predict performance on another's.

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I have the 6x14, and I experience the same clogging and lack of draining. 300 micron mesh.

I've got 2 batches that are to be bitter and hoppy. If I get way more sweetness than I should have, and less flavor, I'll know the culprit for sure.

I'm leaning towards, pellet loose, leaf in the strainer and see what I get. Then I can drain into the filter after whirlpool and cooling, as it goes through my funnel into the carboy.

dogbar said:

Your photo does seem to show a better hot break than I get. Question: Do you use irish moss or whirlfloc? If the former, did you put some both in and out of the filter?

I use whirlfloc and just dropped the tab in the main kettle area. I wonder if the whirlfloc-y compounds are even making it across the screen. Maybe not? Maybe that's why less break material / clogging inside?

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I used whirlfloc for one batch, and dropped it in the kettle I believe, or I think I did.

My last batch, I used Irish moss, and put it in the screen with the hops. I didn't think about it till now, because I usually have my "timer" cups out with my additions for each time all loaded up ready to dump when it's time. Nutrient, irish moss, hops, all in a cup.

Interesting, I use Irish moss and yeast nutrients but throw them in the main area of the kettle. I wonder if that is causing your extra clogged funkiness

I have the Std 400 micron spyder and have had no clogging problems. Works great, cleans easily. I too add Irish moss or whirlfloc to the kettle.

br1dge said:

I don't know, but its clearly not dry. I'd guess you could fit 3lbs of dry pellet hops in a gallon container. Also, My math or your math is wrong, cause I got over 2g of volume for a 6 x 18.

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My math was off a touch, but I think you and I are on the same track. I re-ran the 6x12 this morning and got 1.46 gallons instead of 1.3 (that's what I get for doing my calculations in bed, on my phone, trying to use some of the constants from memory). I was a little off re: the conversion of cubic inches to gallons. But I was also figuring a 6x12 custom screen that I'd asked the vendor about to fit my pot.

If I run the numbers for a 6x18, I get 2.2 gallons. So I agree there too.

The pot I am going to when I upgrade my system is the 15 gallon from morebeer.com. That lists dimensions of 18" wide by 14" high. I am going to put a false bottom in the BK to catch leaf hops and some break material and other trub. That leaves me 12 inches between the FB and the top of the kettle. I figure a 6x12 will give me plenty of room in the screen for those times when I do all pellet hops. The only thing I haven't figured out yet is whether I will try to squeeze my immersion chiller side by side with the screen, or just remove the screen temporarily when I put my IC in, then drop the screen back inside of it. I usually boil my IC the full time I boil my wort, just for convenience. If my chiller and the screen will fit side by side in the new pot, I may continue doing that and leave them both in for the full time.

Here is a few pictures of the 300 micron hop screen that fits just inside of my wart chiller. Great job Chad.

yes those pictures look about right!! I have never seen that much movement in my hop bag.
How much hop material ended up in the kettle when you were done?
Couldn't agree more about Chad, amazing how pleasant it is to work with someone who cares.

This hop screen is 7.5 by 14 inches so it was an inch off the 5500 watt heating element. We brewed an Oatmeal Stout so we did not use a lot of hops. First picture is what was left in the screen and the second is the boil kettle. Most of it is the Irish moss.

marcb said:

Interesting, I use Irish moss and yeast nutrients but throw them in the main area of the kettle. I wonder if that is causing your extra clogged funkiness

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The nutrient I would say no..

The irish moss... Who knows. I can't say it didn't or did. I did use whirlfloc the other two times I used it, but one one put in the kettle, the other in the screen. One was a hoppy pale, and the other was porter with little hops in there.

I think these would be great for whole leaf, regardless. I have a ton of it, but I stocked up on pellets for the more rare and general favorite hops of mine..

I might just have to re do my Citra pale ale, and do it all free in the boil, versus in the screen, and see if there is any difference..

FATC1TY said:

I might just have to re do my Citra pale ale, and do it all free in the boil, versus in the screen, and see if there is any difference.

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that would be a great experiment, would love to hear about the results.

Here is a picture of the system we brew on. Powered by a brewtroller controller, everything else we built.

runningfarmer said:

Here is a picture of the system we brew on. Powered by a brewtroller controller, everything else we built.

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Flipping awesome!

I think the calculations should be focused on surface area, not volume. If the screen clogs, the volume of wort trapped inside is a moot point (except for the money you spent on the hops!).

I think the 400 is the way to go...no matter the size of the filter.

sweetcell said:

that would be a great experiment, would love to hear about the results.

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I probably will. I'm cloning Oddsides Citra Pale Ale, and I'm sure I won't nail it on the first try, will change my grist if it's not on before I start playing with the hop additions. I can run the same hop additions.

ScubaSteve said:

I think the calculations should be focused on surface area, not volume. If the screen clogs, the volume of wort trapped inside is a moot point (except for the money you spent on the hops!).

I think the 400 is the way to go...no matter the size of the filter.

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I was looking at volume primarily as a method get a rough idea of the amount of saturated hops it would hold. If you consider that something with a 1.25 gallon or higher volume, it should be large enough to let the hops expand and still allow the wort to move freely in the strainer and allow it to drain (eventually)

My LHBS stocks mostly pellets. I am concerned the mesh would be course enough on the 400 to let too much of the particulate matter through.

No data to back that up. Just speculation on my part. I use mainly the muslin bags from my LHBS. I wonder where that is on the spectrum compared to the 300 and 400

winvarin said:

I was looking at volume primarily as a method get a rough idea of the amount of saturated hops it would hold. If you consider that something with a 1.25 gallon or higher volume, it should be large enough to let the hops expand and still allow the wort to move freely in the strainer and allow it to drain (eventually)

My LHBS stocks mostly pellets. I am concerned the mesh would be course enough on the 400 to let too much of the particulate matter through.

No data to back that up. Just speculation on my part. I use mainly the muslin bags from my LHBS. I wonder where that is on the spectrum compared to the 300 and 400

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I started out with a 200 based on my research as to what the fine bags are at the LHBS and I was way off. Based on what I have seen reported I am guessing that 400 is equivalent to the bags. I can authoritatively state that with the 300 I have significantly less hop gunk left in my kettle than with bags and I'm assuming better hop utilization because the bags puff up so much that I wasn't getting good circulation with them although the flow through isn't great with the 300.

Just did my first batch with my 4x10" 300 micron pellet basket and it worked great. I only do 2.5gl batches so there wasn't a lot of hops, 1 oz at beginning of the boil and 1oz at flame out. I dumped the bittering hops out of the basket at flame out and added the FO hops in the clean basket. The basket pretty much kept the boil kettle clean of hop sludge. This is going to work out great for my system and I'm working with Chad to build a larger basket for all grain brewing.

wobdee said:

Just did my first batch with my 4x10" 300 micron pellet basket and it worked great. I only do 2.5gl batches so there wasn't a lot of hops, 1 oz at beginning of the boil and 1oz at flame out. I dumped the bittering hops out of the basket at flame out and added the FO hops in the clean basket. The basket pretty much kept the boil kettle clean of hop sludge. This is going to work out great for my system and I'm working with Chad to build a larger basket for all grain brewing.

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pellets or leaf?

extract or all grain?

Ordering one of these for my 5 gal kettle, since my first try with my new dip tube ended with (surprise!) an instant pellet-hop clog when it came time to drain into the fermenter. Pretty excited to give it a shot, and will pot pics of the results.

Any body have any plate chiller clogging when using the 400 micron?

Mine is 6"x14" and it worked fine with 4 ounces of pellets in the filter. I had 8 ounces total but forgot to separate my Irish moss from my 15 min addition so I thru it straight into the boil. I don't IM should go into the filter. IMO it needs to move freely through the boil kettle to do its thing successfully. I also thru my FO addition directly into the boil.

I think size does matter in this case. When I used my "keg version" filter to filer the hop sludge that was thrown into the boil directly (on it's way into the fermenter) it clogged up pretty quick when it got to the last 2 quarts of wort from the BK (I had it hanging in the primary bucket).

I've only done one batch with this so far and I'm 2 weeks away from tasting it so I can't report about utilization until then.

I'll say this, if you've only done one batch and it clogged, I think it's only fair to brew more before passing negative judgement. same thing goes for those of us with one use and everything went fine. How many times do your brew the exact same way and or the exact same beer and have different results? some brew days flow while others make me wonder why the hell I am doing this. But in the end? I always seems to make great beer....for me anyway.

forcabrew said:

Any body have any plate chiller clogging when using the 400 micron?

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I just brewed 10G with 6oz of pellets and a bazooka and had no issues with my plate chiller so I doubt this product would have ANY issues! Sweetcell brought his over this weekend to show me and I am seriously thinking about getting one of them. I can see this saving me time and effort and that is worth $$ to me when you think of all the time that goes into our beloved hobby! I usually use spice balls in the boil...this weekend I had several brain farts, this being one, and did not use them. I usually end up with a couple of baseball sized hops balls and some hop matter in the boil. This time I ended up with a TON of hop matter (okay, 6 oz. ... I exaggerated) and a lot of crapola going through the plate chiller. Time to end that issue! Plus I think my hop utilization will increase dramatically over the spice balls and I will make, wait for it, BETTER BEER!

Looks like a billion posts on this. After reading your orig post I bought off the eBay dude. Used twice, works great. If people r worried about hop dispersion, use a little more hops. My final beer is also much cleaner. I got a broom brush to scrub it out. Stores easily. I am pretty happy.

Will someone recommend one for me to order?

My set up: blichmann 15 boilermaker
Intend on using cfc/plate chiller soon. I brew alot of ipa/apa using just pellet hops.

I ordered the 6x14 version that was $60.

swackattack said:

Will someone recommend one for me to order?

My set up: blichmann 15 boilermaker
Intend on using cfc/plate chiller soon. I brew alot of ipa/apa using just pellet hops.

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Either measure the height of your pot or look it up on line. Using a plate or cfc, depth will be your only issue. I am ordering the morebeer standard 15 gal pot which has a posted depth of 14 in. But I am also going to put a false bottom in the kettle for the times when I do lea hops only. The FB is supposed to be 1.75 high. In the event I want to use both devices at the same time, I am going to have him custom make a 6x12 for me.

The 6x14 version hangs perfectly on the side of my 10g blichmann. I don't use a false bottom though.

I've got a 6x10 400 micron on the way - can't wait to use it in my 8g BK. I had the same experience as the others with Chad - great guy to deal with.

swackattack said:

Will someone recommend one for me to order?

My set up: blichmann 15 boilermaker
Intend on using cfc/plate chiller soon. I brew alot of ipa/apa using just pellet hops.

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I would use a 6" diameter and 16" length based on the measurement of your kettle on Blichmanns site.

hanson95 said:

I've got a 6x10 400 micron on the way - can't wait to use it in my 8g BK. I had the same experience as the others with Chad - great guy to deal with.

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I am thinking about getting the same one. How much did it run you? If you get a chance next brew session, take a picture or two and post it. I am most interested in the difference between 300 and 400 micron and think 400 is making more sense to me right now. I don't care if I get a little bit of hops in the kettle...Also, do you use mainly pellets or leaf? I tend to use leaf but of course sometimes you have to use pellets as that is all you can find. Thanks for any info you can provide!

stonebrewer said:

I am thinking about getting the same one. How much did it run you? If you get a chance next brew session, take a picture or two and post it. I am most interested in the difference between 300 and 400 micron and think 400 is making more sense to me right now. I don't care if I get a little bit of hops in the kettle...Also, do you use mainly pellets or leaf? I tend to use leaf but of course sometimes you have to use pellets as that is all you can find. Thanks for any info you can provide!

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There are plenty of pictures in the thread of the filters, by the way.

stonebrewer said:

I am thinking about getting the same one. How much did it run you? If you get a chance next brew session, take a picture or two and post it. I am most interested in the difference between 300 and 400 micron and think 400 is making more sense to me right now. I don't care if I get a little bit of hops in the kettle...Also, do you use mainly pellets or leaf? I tend to use leaf but of course sometimes you have to use pellets as that is all you can find. Thanks for any info you can provide!

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The 6x10-400 cost $45. Like they say, "it didn't happen if there's no pics", so I'll definitely post them. I use mainly pellets, but would like to also start using whole hops. I had the same thoughts as you - I don't need to filter every granule out, so 400 is what I went with.

hanson95 - Thanks! Looking forward to seeing it. That is right in my price range too, so it appears a win-win. Most interested in how much pellet dust you have in the kettle after the boil and drain. I was leaning toward the 400 to get good flow in and around the hops. I saw the 300 up close and think it is a little too closed for what I want.

FATC1TY: Yup...I read this whole string. See above for the pix detail I was looking for. I'm not one of those people I always have to say "Let me Google that for ya", if you know what I mean...

ScubaSteve said:

Man...I do this a lot....inventing things that have already been invented. If only I had a time machine......

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I already invented that

stonebrewer said:

hanson95 - Thanks! Looking forward to seeing it. That is right in my price range too, so it appears a win-win. Most interested in how much pellet dust you have in the kettle after the boil and drain. I was leaning toward the 400 to get good flow in and around the hops. I saw the 300 up close and think it is a little too closed for what I want.

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Look what I got today...

After seeing it, I'm glad I went with 400 - I think it will be a good cross between filtering and hop utilization. And the 6x10 size looks like it will provide plenty of room in my BP for the hops to swim.

Also, I'm very happy with Chad as the vendor - I wouldn't hesitate for a second to buy again from him. Unfortunately, I won't be brewing with it for a couple weeks, but I'll provide an update then.

hanson95 said:

Look what I got today...

After seeing it, I'm glad I went with 400 - I think it will be a good cross between filtering and hop utilization. And the 6x10 size looks like it will provide plenty of room in my BP for the hops to swim.

Also, I'm very happy with Chad as the vendor - I wouldn't hesitate for a second to buy again from him. Unfortunately, I won't be brewing with it for a couple weeks, but I'll provide an update then.

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Awesome! I should have a 400 coming soon and look forward to putting it through its paces.

I have been following this thread and apologize if I already missed this. Has anyone down a side by side with the 300 and 400 with all pellets? I brew with mainly pellets and cannot decide between the 2. I don't mind a few extra tenths of an ounce here and there to account for utilization loss. I am looking to really clean up the wort heading into the fermenter.

pix from my first brew session with the new filter. filter contains over 4 ounces of pellets (0.8 oz columbus, 3.2 oz simcoe, 0.5 oz citra). i had another 2 oz of free-floating cascade in the pot

i got the default-sized 300-micron filter, it fit perfectly on my 9 (10?) gallon pot. if i was to order again i might go with the 400, but i am perfectly happy with the 300. i had flow going through the filter. it wasn't perfect flow, but i wouldn't expect it to be - if water can flow through freely, so can the hop material.

i can recommend this purchase.

winvarin said:

I have been following this thread and apologize if I already missed this. Has anyone down a side by side with the 300 and 400 with all pellets? I brew with mainly pellets and cannot decide between the 2. I don't mind a few extra tenths of an ounce here and there to account for utilization loss. I am looking to really clean up the wort heading into the fermenter.

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Not that I have seen, I compared the 200 to the 300 and just shipped back my 200 to Chad to convert to a 400 so I can test it out. My objective was zero hop residue into my plate chillers before hitting the fermenter and the 300 accomplishes that nicely. I believe from what I have seen that the 400 would work as well without any issues but I won't know on my setup until i test it out. I will gladly post pics and plan on using both in my kettle at the same time with a reasonably high hop-billed DIPA.